


Old Friends Die Hard

by MariaAshby64



Series: Kingdom Hearts Needs More Hugs [5]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, One Shot, Radiant Garden, Recovery, kh3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 23:38:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17949332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaAshby64/pseuds/MariaAshby64
Summary: Even after all you've been through, you're still there for each other. And that's what matters.Contains some KH3 spoilers. Set sometime after the final battle and before the final cut scene.Read at your own risk.





	Old Friends Die Hard

Lea hummed to himself as he made his usual rounds through the castle corridors. It was a strange feeling, being back in Radiant Garden. The world had once been his home, but it had also changed so much. Razed, rebirthed and finally reconstructed. Lea chewed his lip as he considered the similarities between his former home and himself. Poetic, was it not?

After they had finally defeated Xehanort, after it was all over, there had seemed to be a lingering question in the air.

How do they piece their lives back together, after all they had been through?

Of course Lea knew exactly where he needed to go. He was surprised when everyone else decided to tag along.

Roxas and Xion had both wanted to stick with him for the time being. Riku had already mentioned he had business in Radiant garden to attend to. And after some deliberating Aqua decided that it would be best to rest up and debrief, before deciding where to go from there.

That had been four days ago. Four days since Sora had disappeared to look for Kairi. Four days since Lea’s awkward reunion with Demyx and Vexen. Four days since the project to restore Namine had begun. And four days since Isa had been recompleted, and that many days since he hadn’t woken up.

Lea sighed as he rounded the corner, perking up as he spotted a familiar head of blond hair at the end of the corridor. He called out a greeting.

“Yo, Roxas!” The kid turned to face him with an annoyed look.

“It’s Ven!” Ventus called back as he stopped and waited to Lea to catch up. “How many times are you going to call me that?”

“Until it’s no longer funny,” Lea smirked as he attempted to ruffle Ventus’ hair.

“Stop that,” Ventus ducked under his arm. “Don’t think you can treat me like a kid just ‘cause you’re taller than me.”

“What? I would never.” Lea feigned innocence. “Besides, you were never taller than me in the first place.”

“Was too!” Ventus stepped back and took a jab at his side.

“Ow! Okay, okay,” Lea backed off. Ventus took the moment to bask in his victory, resting his arms behind his head.

“So, how’s Isa?” He asked, the question was enough to sour the mood. Lea sighed.

“Last I saw he still hadn’t woken up. I’m heading over to visit now.”

“Oh cool,” Ventus dropped his arms. “I’ve been to see him a couple times, but I don’t really stay long. Being around unconscious people kinda makes me antsy.”

“Right, of course.” Lea couldn’t really blame him. The kid had just been in a coma for ten years.

“Uh… so how are Xion and Roxas handling it?” Ventus seemed keen to move the conversation on.

“Oh they’re alright. They’re more worried for me than they are for Isa.”

“Huh?” Ventus blinked, “But I thought you were all friends?”

“Definitely not.” Lea scoffed, “They’re the ones who helped me beat him up in the first place.”

“Wait they did?” This seemed to confuse Ventus so much that Lea could almost see the gears turning in his head. It occurred to him that he hadn’t filled Ventus in on that particular plot point yet.

“You know what,” Lea interrupted his thoughts, “why don’t you go ask Roxas about it?”

“I dunno…” He frowned. Lea knew the kid tried his best, but Ventus hadn’t quite gotten used to Roxas having the same face as him yet.

“Come on Ven, you shouldn’t avoid him.” When Ventus proceeded to slouch further reached and put a hand on his shoulder, “Hey, I bet you two can be great friends if you try.”

Ventus seemed to chew on that thought for a while. He sighed, looking back up at Lea.

“Sure, I’ll try.” He smiled and stepped back, “I shouldn’t keep you any longer. Say “hi” to Isa for me!” And with that he retreated back down the corridor.

Lea continued to Isa’s room. Well it wasn’t really his room, just a place they were keeping him till he recovered. Lea waited for a moment outside, hand on the doorknob, before steeling himself and opening it.

Isa was still lying there, just like yesterday, tucked in the sheets. His hair fell across the pillow and pooled around his shoulders. He wore the same clothes they found him in, the black coat, previously worn by members of the organisation. Since they’d put him there, he’d barely moved, apart from the slight twitches he made in his sleep.

Which was why it was a surprise when Isa stirred as he entered the room, his weary gaze settling on Lea. He blinked slowly. Green eyes, not yellow, taking him in. Lea remained frozen in the doorway, not quite believing the sight before him. That his friend was finally alive, and awake, in front of him. Frowning, Isa spoke in a low, croaky, voice.

“Oh, it’s you.”

It wasn’t a scathing remark, just tired.

“You… you’re awake?” Lea stuttered. Slowly, he closed the door, not quite taking his eyes off Isa. Afraid that if he did, he’d somehow disappear.

“And I was having such a nice nap.” Isa muttered as Lea stepped forward. He raised a hand to rub the sleep from his eyes. “Well, before _you_ came in at least.”

“Aww, come on man,” Lea snapped himself out of his trance as he pulled up a chair. “You had me worried there for a while.”

Isa made a sound which was probably supposed to be a scoff, but it came off more as a wheezing breath, caught in his throat. He tried to sit up but couldn’t quite manage the strength. Lea leaned forward and helped him upright. Slouching forward Isa eyed him with a side glance before flicking his gaze around the room.

“How long was I out for?” He inquired, his stare resting on a spot on the wall. Always one to deal with formalities.

“About four days.” Lea tried to gauge his reaction but his eyes were unreadable, still inspecting some none existent stain on the wall.

“And I always thought you were the one to sleep in.”

Lea’s jaw hung slightly ajar as he stared up at him. Perplexed at the light joke. A side of Isa he thought he’d never see again. Not after all these years.

Lea snorted. Loudly. The abrupt noise breaking through the tension. Then, spur of the moment, he pulled Isa into an embrace. Arms wrapped around his friend’s shoulders, tight, ignoring the hair that pressed against his face. Isa seemed to freeze, not reciprocating the hug, but not pulling away either.

And that was fine.

“I missed you.” Lea whispered into the fabric of his coat.

“Idiot.” Isa murmured.

“Jerk.” Lea replied.

He let go before his manliness was compromised. Isa sat back, brushing a few stray hair back in place. This time when he looked up at Lea, he really took him in for the first time.

“Are you crying again?”

“Huh?” Lea blinked, clearing his vision. “Nah, just… almost.” He shook his head. “Anyway, if you feel up to it, I’ll let the others know you’re awake. They’ll be glad to hear it.”

“Oh?” Isa tilted his head, “And who else is here.”

“Well, Ven is,” Lea sat back, counting people off on his fingers. “Do you remember Ventus? We met him a long time ago. He’s leaving with his friends, Terra and Aqua, tomorrow. Ienzo is working with Ansem the Wise, and Even, on bringing Namine back. Aleus and Dilan are hanging around somewhere… and I believe I saw Demyx a little while back, but he probably cleared off when he heard you were here.”

“I wouldn’t blame him.” Isa muttered. The sudden bitterness in his voice took Lea by surprise.

“I mean… you don’t have to say hi to everyone, all at once.” He assured him.

“No, I owe it to them to make face.” Isa was now staring at the bed covers. “I must… atone for what I’ve done.” He clutched at the sheets with fisted hands, seemingly determined to stare the fibres into oblivion.

“It’s alright, I forgive you.”

Isa blinked and frowned at him. “I haven’t even apologised to you yet.”

“Yeah, but you had that look in your eye,” Lea waved dismissively. Isa’s gaze flicked stubbornly back to the sheets.

“You shouldn’t hand out forgiveness so easily.” He muttered.

“We’ve gotten into plenty of fights before,” Lea shrugged. “And I really don’t want to hold onto grudges again. Even as a Nobody, that was rough.”

Isa’s scowl deepened further.

“Lea, I’m sor-“

“I said, it’s fine.” Lea cut him off again. “And if you plan on atoning, I suggest you do it with actions instead of words.”

Isa glared at him. Lea held his gaze in a silent stare off.

“Fine.” Isa relented, staring back down at the sheets. Lea smirked at his friend’s petty loss. After some internal debate Isa spoke up again.

“Is…” he paused, hesitant of speaking, “Are Xion and Roxas here?”

“Oh?” Lea sat up in his chair, “Yeah, they still are. Why?”

“I think, I should apologise to them first.” Isa replied. He slowly laid back down, settling in the covers of the bed. “If… if they want to see me at all…” Lea stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll let them know.”

He let go and stood, arching his back as he stretched. “Get some rest, okay? I’ll let the others know you’re awake.”

Isa nodded, his eyes drifting shut as he settled back into sleep. Lea wandered over to the door, he was half through when he heard a quiet,

“Lea?”

“Yeah?” he asked, popping his head back in. Isa was staring up at him through half closed eyes.

“Thank you,” he murmured, “for dragging me back home.”

Lea cracked a smile.

“Don’t mention it.”

And he left, quietly closing the door behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I must say, KH3 was quite a ride. There were probably more hugs in that game than there were in the rest of the entire series. 
> 
> However if you feel that a fave pair or squad of yours didn't get the hug they deserve please feel free to leave a request in the comments below. The request can be tied to cannon, cannon divergent or a completely different au, I'll make it up as I go.
> 
> I'm happy to keep adding to this series, but now my main focus will be my crossover fic: How to Train Your Heartless. So if you like my writing and want to see more, please check it out.


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